Bowling pin respotter



Sgpt. 23, 195-2 Y M. P/ATTERSON 2,611,611-

- BOWLING PIN RESPOTTER I Filgd Sept. 10, 1946 $SheetS-Sheet 1 FIG, I

INVENTOR Y MOREHEAD PATTERSON.

' EA'ITORNEY BOWLING PIN RESPOTTER Filed Sept. 10, 1946 s Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTOR MOREHEAD PATTERSON ATTORNEY III/J.

M. PATTERSON BOWLING PIN RESPOTTER' Sept. 23, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 10, 1946 INVENTOR MORE HEAD PATTERSON B hm w ATII'ORNEY Patented Sept. 23, a 1952 UNITED TES PATENTQQQFFICE,

' BOWLING PIN RESPOTTER MoreheadPatterson, New York, N. 1 assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a I corporation of New Jersey Application September 10, 1946, Serial No. 696,062

13 Claims. (Cl. 273-42) This invention relates to improvements in automatic pin setting apparatus for bowling alleys and, more particularly, to apparatus which increases the range and reliability of the respot-. ting mechanism.

;My invention is particularly well adapted for use with automatic bowling pin spotting. apparatus of the type utilizing conical members for guidinggripping devices into centered relation with respect to off spot bowling pins: Apparatus of this general .type is shown inUxS. Patent No. 2,283,613 issued to Mr. G. J. Schmidton May 19, 1942. It is not .intended, however, that its use be restricted. to apparatus ofthis general type inasmuch as other types of bowling pin mechanism can also advantageously employ the invention hereinafter described and claimed.

In apparatus of the type referred to, the conical respotting members have to operate overthe area on a bowling alley on which bowling pins are. spotted. The diameter of the conical members, therefore, has to be limitedso that they do not interfere with adjoining cones when picking up off spot pins which are relatively close together.

It is an object of the present invention to increase the effective pin engaging. range of the conical members by providing them with. fingers which are adapted and arranged to interfinger with the fingers of'anadjoining member when ofi" spot pins arerelatively close together.

A further objectis to provide legs on the coneshaped members which: .will support the'cones above. the circular. openings over which they op crate andwhich willnot prevent theedges of adjoining cones coming close together to pick up off spot pins which are relatively close together.

Ihave found that certain bowling pins have a greater tendency to be displaced'or walk to the rear-and'under certain conditions, toward'the' sides of the alley'than in any other direction as a result of the action of the ball on the pins." It

is, therefore, an object of myv invention to arrange asymmetrically the circular openings of the bottom platform with respect toeach other 45 to conform more closely to the direction in which pins are usually displaced, while conforming with the general pattern of positioning pins on a bowling alley. In'this way, the pin engaging members will have a more practical operating 2 I formed in the bottom platform to thereby prevent a bowling pin from being toppled. v

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as the description of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the invention progresses. In the accompanyin drawings, which form a, part of this specification, like charactersof reference have been applied to correspondingpartsthroughout the several views which make-up the drawings, in which Fig. 1 isa plan view of the bowling pin respotting-platform supporting the conical pin en: gaging members, showing the circular openings for the 4, 5 and 6 pins ,moved tothe rear;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating. interfingering of adjoining members;

Fig. 3 is a partial bottom view of the respotter platform, illustrating a few circular openings in the same and their sensitive edges as well as av schematic electrical hook-up of the latter with the driving mechanism of the pinspotter; and

Fig. 4is a, partial sectional side elevation of the respotter platform, taken on line 4-1-4 of Fig. 3, illustrating-a circular opening and its sensitive edge in detail; ,1

Fig. 5 is across sectional side p ppin e ha ism:

Reference ismade to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, showing one embodiment of my invention, wherein a lower lifting platform I l is provided with ten circular openings I2 corresponding to the arrangement or pattern in which bowling pins are positioned on a bowling alley.

As a result of study and experimentation,: I have found in a triangular pin arrangement wherein the Number 1 pin'position represents the apex of the triangle and the'l, 8, 9 and. 10 pin positions represent the base of the triangle as shown in Fig. 1, that the 4, 5 and 6 pins are more often displaced by thebowling ,ball toward the rear of the bowling alley than in any other 'direction. I have, therefore, located. the holes 12 over the 4, 5 and 6 pin spotpositions a short distance toward the rear, as indicated by the letter D, to increase the practical operating range of the pin engaging members hereinafter described. While my invention permits the amount of displacement D to be varied,-I-have elevation of the found that by asymmetrically arranging the holes over the.4', 5 and 6 pin spot positions'approximately 1' to the rear as shown in Fig. 1 the practical operating range of thepin engaging members operating over the 4, 5 and 6 pin spot positions may bev satisfactorily increased.

Slidably supported over each of these openings or holes [2 are pin engaging members, consisting of a cone 1 3 and fingers l5 which project from the cone l3 and the far ends of which act as supporting legs. The center portion M of the cone (Figure 2) is provided with a suitable pin gripping mechanism (Fig. 5) which is similar to that shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,283,613.

The ripping mechanism consists of a suction piston 88 which is movably mounted within the center portion M of each cone. The suction piston may have a beveled rim or stop portion 32 arranged to engage with and fit closely about the head of the standing bowling-pin. A gasket 85 which may be formed of rubber or other suitable material having like qualities, may be placed around the exterior or rim 82 of suction piston 80 and assists in securely holding the pin to the suction piston when a vacuum is created within the piston in that part surrounding the head of the pin to be gripped. Since this pin gripping mechanism is already fully described and shown in U. S. Patent 2,233,613 referred to above, a further description herein of this structure is omitted for the sake of brevity.

Surrounding the bottom edge of each circular opening i2 is a metallic flange 3| having a wire connecting lug 31a projecting therefrom. The flanges 3f are fastened to'the bottom portion of the platform II by suitable screws 3th.

Spaced from each of the flanges 31 are metallic rings 30. Each ring 39 has a number of flexible lugs 32 projecting irom its periphery. Each of the lugs't z, which resiliently space the rings 30 from flanges 3i, is secured to the platform H by a suitable screw 3%. The flanges 3i and the rings 30 are wired in parallel. Wires 43 to 52 connect the lugs 32 to asource ofelectrical current by means of wire 40. Wires 53 to .62 connect the lugs 31c by means of wire 4| to a. solenoid 33 which, turn, is connected to the. source of electrical current bymeans' or wire 42. The solenoid 33 forms part or a conventional one-revolution-clutch C which controls the operation of the pin setting machine. Whenever a bowling pin is moved on spot tothe extent that it engages with one of the rings 30, the flange 3-! and the ring 30 will be brought into contact with each other. When a flange 3! and a ring 39 are brought into contact with each other in this mannerthey close a circuit which presents further movement of the litter table which might cause damage to the machine or topple over the pin.

Solenoid 33, when energized, actuates a plunger 34 in the direction indicated by the arrow tEig. 3). "The end of the plunger 34 carries a pin 3.5 which engages with a suitable slot in a bell crank leverarm 36, pivotally mounted on stationarystud 31. When the lever arm 35 is actuated by the solenoid plunger 34, it movesthe other arm 38 of the bell crankinto the path of travel of lug 39 which is also a part of and projects from the one-revolution clutch C.

' When the clutch C; is in engagement, the lug 3.9. travels with. the same in the direction indicatcd by the arrow. When the arm. 38 is. de-. pressed by, the cnergization of the solenoid 33. it moves into the pat of travel of the lug 38, cause i s .11s. 3.9. 20, be depressed which, in turn, effects a disengagement or clutch member 65 from mem-.

the respotting table or platform is raised or lowered in proper time relation with the operation of the bowling pin setting machine ina manner similar to that disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,283,613. The raising and lowering of said platform is effected through a pair of cables 11 and 18 which are connected to a pair of guide shoes 73 and It, in which lugs 69 and ID are pivotally supported to permit the table l to be turned in a manner similar to that shown in U. S. Patent 2,283,613. Shoes 13 and M are slidably supported in vertical guide channels l5 and 16. The lugs 69 and 73 are secured in brackets H and '72 respectively, both of which are mounted to the lower platform ll.

The bowling pin engaging mechanism, just described, operates as follows:

After the first ball has been thrown, some of the pins, as a rule, are knocked down while others, although they remain standing, have been moved ofi their original spotted position and become what is commonly referred to as off'spot pins. Before the second ball is thrown, it is necessary to first remove from the bowling alley, the pins that were knocked down, sometimes referred to as dead wood, and the bowlin ball. This is accomplished by lowering the table platform ll in a manner similar to that shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,283,613. The continued downward movement of the table platform ll causes the tops of the standing bowling pins, which have passed through the circular openings 12, to engage with the pin engaging members con sisting of cones l3 and fingers [5. When the of! spot pins P engage with the fingers i5 01' the cones l3, they cause the cones in which they engage to. move sidewise'until the center pore tions id of the. cones 13 are moved over the tops of their respective bowling pins. The top of the standing bowling pin is then gripped by the gripper mounted in member 14 described heretofore. As soon as the bowlin pins have been gripped. the platform ll is elevated by means of cables TI and 18 to lift the. standing gripped bowling pins oii the alley and to permit the bowling ball and fallen pins. to be removed by suitable. sweepingmechanism from the bowling alley. After this operation, the table platform H is lowered to replace the lifted pinson the bowling alley in exactly the same position they were in before being engaged and elevated from the alley.

Heretofore. in apparatus such as shown in U. S.

Patent No. 2,283,613, it has been the practice to.

use, a solid cone, the diameter of which, because of; the restricted area in which it. operated, had

to be. li lt d to. avoid harms its perip ery'im f e w th those o adio n ns ones especial y when picking up. oil spot pins which are relatively close together. The holes in the lower tabla, therefore, had to be limited in diameter inasmuch as the cones, coacting with each circular opening, were of limited diameter.

The, structure I have. disclosed in my invention solves thi problem in t at t e diameter of the I holes l2, in the lower platformv H, can be made.

range of the pin engaging members is, therefore. materially increased. Thus, the applicant has overcome the dilemma due to. the fact'th'at if a solid cone is made small enough so that it does not interfere with the other cones when offspot pins are close together, it will fall through the openings. If the openings are made smaller, then the range is decreased. With the present construction, larger openings may be used, thecones donot fall through the openings, and the cones do not interfere with each other despite their large effective diameter.

In case a bowling pin walks off so far from its original spot that the head of the pin touches the edge of the circular opening 12, it will push the ring against the flange 3 I. As soon as this happens, electrical current will flow from the source of supply through wire 40, through one of the. wires 43 to 52, through the wire connected to the ring 30, through the flange 3|, through one of the wires 53 to 52 connecting the flange 3] to the solenoid 33 and, after passing through the solenoid 33, back to the source of supply through wire 32. The current, inpassing through the solenoid 33, energizes the same which, in turn, causes the one-revolution clutch C to become disengaged. This feature is found particularly desirable in that it not only avoids toppling over a standing bowling pin, but it also avoids causing any damage either to the pin or to the bowling machine.

The invention above described may be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pin spotter mechanism, a horizontal member positioned above the bed of a bowling alley; holes formed in said member above each of the positions on which bowling pins are spotted; conical devices positioned above said holes; legs formed at the lower end of said conical devices for slidably supporting the devices over said holes to permit the devices to center themselves over the heads of standing off spot pins when they engage with the standing pins, the legs on each device being sufiiciently spaced from each other and so arranged to permit them to pass between the legs on adjoining devices; and pin gripping means connected to said conical devices for gripping the head ends of pins over which said conical devices are centered.

, 2. In a bowling pin setting apparatus, mechanism for lifting bowling pins consisting of, a platform adapted and arranged to travel toward and away from the bed of a bowling alley, said platform having circular holes formed in the platform above each of the positions on which bowling pins are spotted on a bowling alley; conical members located above said holes; lugs projecting from said conical members for slidably supporting each of the cones on said platform above one of said holes, said lugs being spaced from each other to permit the lugs to interfinger with the projecting lugs of adjoining cones when off spot pins which are relatively close together are engaged; and pin grippers mounted on said conical members for gripping the head ends of pins over which said conical members are centered.

3. In mechanism for engaging, lifting and replacing spot and off spot pins standing on a bowling alley, the combination of a device having formed therein a plurality of openings, corresponding in number to the bowling pins used on a bowling alley; conical members having fingers projecting outwardly from said members for slideably supporting said members on said device above ,saidopenings, said fingers being spaced from each other to permit them to interfinger with the fingers of adjoining conicalmembers; pin grippers connected to each of said conical members for gripping the head ends of pins over which said conical members are centered; and means for moving saiddevice toward and away from the bed of a bowling alley to bring said conical members into and out of engagement with standing bowling pins. 7

r 4. In mechanism for engaging, removing and replacing spot and off spot pins standing on a bowling alley, the combination of a platform having holes formed therein corresponding to the triangular arrangement of tenpins on a bowling alley and through which the upper ends of standing bowling pins can pass, at least one of the holes over the 4, 5 and 6 pin positions being asymmetrically arranged with respect to the positions on a bowling alley on which bowling pins are spotted to correspond to the positions displaced bowling pins usually occupy after being displaced;inverted funnel-like members slideably located above each of said holes; arms associated with each of said funnel-like members for supporting the same above each of said holes, said arms being spaced and arranged to interpass the arms on adjacent funnels when the funnels engage withdisplaced pins that are relatively close together and pin grippers connected to each of said funnel-like members for gripping the head ends of pins over which said conical'members are centered.

5. In mechanism for engaging, removing and replacing standing spotand off spot pins on a bowling alley, the combination of, a support; pin engaging members; fingers extending from each of said pin engaging members for slidably mounting said members on said support, the fingers of adjoining pin engaging members being adapted and arranged to interfinger; pin grippers connected to each of said pin engaging members for gripping the head ends of pins over which said pin engaging members are centered; and means for bringing said pin engaging members into and out of engagement with standing bowling pins to grip, remove and replace said standing pins on the bowling alley.

6. In a bowling pin spotting machine for bowling alleys, the combination of, a table movable to and from the alley bed; and shiftable devices on the table for gripping off spot pins and lifting them from the alley bed by the table and releasing gripped pins replaced on the same off spot position from which they were lifted, said devices having their normal centered positions arranged in the usual playing arrangement of ten bowling pins on an alley with the exception that the devices coacting with the Number 4, 5 and 6 pins have their centered positions to the rear of normal initial spotting position in order to more effectively handle pins which have been moved backwardly by the first ball.

7. A pin lifting mechanism for use with a conventional bowling alley where ten pins are spotted in a triangular symmetrical arrangement on positions commonly referred to by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, where position 1 represents the apex of the triangle and positions '7, 8, 9, 10 represent the base of the triangle, said mechanism comprising a platform having ten triangularly arranged openings formed therein through which standing bowling pins extend when the platform is moved toward the alley, said openings corresponding in arrangement to said positions on a bowling alley on which bowlingpins are spotted, and wherein the openings in the platform over positions 4, and 6 are arranged rearwardly with respect to their normal triangular arrangement in order to be centered over the area into which the pins 4, 5 and 6 are most frequently displaced; pin gripping devices above each of said ten openings for gripping standing bowling pins, and means for moving said platform toward and away from a bowling alley to grip, lift and replace standing bowling pins on the bowling alley by means of said pin gripping devices.

8. Mechanism for engaging, lifting and replacing bowling pins on an alley comprising, a

table platform having a plurality of openings formed therein, said openings being located approximately over the positions on a bowling alley where bowling pins are spotted; conical members positioned above each of said openings; the bases of said conical members being of a diameter approximating the width of said openings; pin gripping means associated with the upper ends of said conical members for gripping the head ends of pins over which said conical members are centered, lugs projecting outwardly from said conical members for slidably supporting said conical members in a raised position over the openings formed in said table platform a distance sufficient to allow the lugs of one conical member to move under an adjoining conical member, and means for moving said platform toward and away from a bowling alley to lift and replace bowling pins on the bowling alley.

9. Mechanism for engaging bowling pins standing in both spot and off spot positions comprising, a table having formed therein a circular opening above each of the spots on a bowling alley where pins are spotted, inverted funnelshaped members located above each of said openings, pin gripping mechanism associated with each of said funnel-shaped members for gripping :the head ends of pins over which said funnel- .shaped members are centered, and (elongated :members connected to said inverted funnel- .shaped members for slidably supporting said funnel-shaped members on said table, said. elongated members being constructed and. arranged to interfinger with the elongated members of adjoining inverted funnel-shaped members to :allow the gripping mechanisms of adjoining funnel-shaped members to come close together :to pick up off spot pins that are close together.

10. In mechanism for engaging, lifting andreplacing spot and off spot pins standing on a bowling alley, the combination of a platform having holes formed therein through which the upper ends of standing bowling pins can pass, inverted funnel-like pin gripping members slid.- .ably supported on said platform above each of said holes for gripping the head ends of pins over which said funnel-like members are centered, mechanism for moving said platform toward and away from a bowling alley to bring said members into gripping engagement with said standing bowling pins, and means for stop- 7 ping the mechanism moving the platform when an oif spot bowling pin comes in contact with the circumference of one of said holes, said means comprising a switch device surrounding the circumference of each of said holes..

11. In a bowling pin spotting machine for bowi ing alleys on which tenpins are arranged in triangular playing arrangement, the combination of, a table movableto and from the alley bed, and shiftable devices on the table for gripping off spot pins and lifting them from the alley bed by means of the table and returning them to the same oif spot position from which they were lifted, said devices having their normal centered positions arranged in the usual playing arrangement of bowling pins on an alley with the exception that at least one of the devices coacting with the 4th, 5th, and 6th pins have their centered positions to the rear of normal initial spotting position in order to more effectively handlep'ins which have been moved backwardly by the first balL 12. In a bowling pin spotting machine, the combination with, a support movable to and from the alley bed, devices on the support for gripping oif spot pins to be lifted from the alley bed by the table and returned to the same off spot position from which they were lifted, said devices having a limited gripping range so that there is an area beyond their gripping range where they cannot grip standing pins, individually movable pin sensing means substantially surrounding each of said devices in the area beyond their gripping range for detecting abnormally oif spot pins in said area; and 'means responsive to said sensing means for preventing; further movement of said support in th'e direction of the alley bed when said abnormally off spot pins are sensed.

13. In a bowling pin spotter mechanism, an elevator having a plurality of holes corresponding in arrangement to the arrangement'of pins used on a bowling alley through which the heads of standing bowling pins pass when the elevator is lowered, bowling pin gripping devices associated with said elevator for gripping bowling pins, mechanism for lowering and lifting said elevator, individualannular obstruction detecting members mounted on the underside of said elevator and surrounding each of said holes, additional individually operated annular members mounted on the: underside of said elevator and spaced from'sai'd first named members, said spaced members being constructed and arranged for movement into contact with each other on engagement with an obstruction, and electricalmeans associated with said members for stopping the mechanism that lowers and lifts said elevator when an obstruction brings said opposed members. into contact.

MO'REHEAD PATTERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Frye Nov. 2-1, 1950 

